posture while waiting

What is your posture while waiting?

My seven-year-old daughter, Haddie, received a gift card from her grandma for Christmas last year. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to use it for, but after a few days of thinking about what toy would best suit her needs, she had an idea.

Yes, she was sure of it. Girlfriend absolutely needed a stroller for her stuffed animals. How else would she take her stuffies on walks through the backyard?

On Wednesday afternoon we sat together on the couch while she clutched her gift card in her hand. The laptop sat on my legs as we scrolled through Amazon searching for the perfect stroller. 

We talked about how the pink one would be best, but the purple one was bigger. She asked if bunny AND kitty could fit into the striped one, because it was a cool looking jogging stroller. The pros and cons lists were made and after much deliberation, she made her decision. The pink polka dot stroller with matching purse would make for the perfect mode of transportation for her stuffies.

We entered the gift card information and clicked Buy Now.

Haddie was bursting with excitement and immediately asked how many sleeps until her stroller arrived. Sister knows the ways of Prime, but she wanted to confirm that 2-day shipping was indeed her ticket to stroller paradise.

I told her the package would arrive on Friday, but that didn’t stop the following day’s meltdowns from happening.

No matter how many times I reassured her, her impatience grew. Thursday was full of tantrums and tears, because WHY couldn’t things ship faster? She wanted to take her stuffies for a stroller ride TODAY!

We had so many conversations about waiting. What does it look like to wait? How can we wait with grace? What happens when we wait with impatience?

Explaining these concepts to a six-year-old feels impossible, but something must have taken root, because she woke up Friday morning full of peace and patience.

She sat quietly at the window, waiting. Watching for the mailman to deliver her stroller. There were no more tears, no more tantrums. She was still. Just waiting.

What is your posture while you wait? Do you find yourself frustrated because it’s taking too long? Do you find yourself feeling grumpy or on edge? Are you a worrier when you are waiting? 

If you are waiting on something right now, let’s take a look at a few things God can teach us about our posture while we wait. 

James 5:7 (NLT) tells us “...you must be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who eagerly look for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They patiently wait for the precious harvest to ripen.”

Ugh, can you see what words surround wait in this verse? Patiently.

I’ve never been a patient person. I used to pray for patience ALL. THE. TIME. You know what happened the last time I prayed for patience? God gave me the perfect opportunity to practice patience when He blessed our family with triplets. Never have I ever prayed for patience since that day eight years ago. 

Waiting with patience is a discipline, but if we pray for the Lord’s help, He will be with us in the waiting.

Does waiting patiently mean we have to be subdued? No! If you take a look at that verse in James again, you’ll notice the farmers eagerly look. Paul also uses the word eagerly when chatting about waiting in the book of Galatians. “But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive everything promised to us who are right with God through faith.” (Galatians 5:5 NLT)

Are you waiting on something right now? What if your posture was that of eager patience?

It was okay for Haddie to yearn for her new stroller, but throwing herself a pity party about it’s perceived delay was not.

Maybe you are waiting on a promotion. Test results. A job interview. Your next set of orders.

Whatever it is you are waiting on right now, know that God is in absolute control of the situation. Your impatience comes from your perceived timeline of when and how things should look. The waiting becomes difficult when we cling too tightly. The world will tell us things like ‘hurry up and wait’ and encourage you to worry your way through the waiting, bustling about, keeping busy.

The Bible surrounds waiting with patience and stillness, yet allows room for longing.

How you wait is equally important as how long you wait.

Don’t rush the waiting, but focus on what there is to learn in the waiting.

Haddie’s stroller arrived Friday afternoon and the joy on my daughter’s face is something I won’t soon forget. She learned that waiting is hard and we will battle our earthly desires, but in the end, as we wait patiently, the Lord will see us through.